Water pipes complicate road repair works: AG

Lice Movono
Wednesday, March 07, 2018

Update: 12:50PM OLD roads built on some Suva suburbs did not have proper drainage and made current repair works complicated.

Speaking as the acting Minister for Local Government, Urban Development, Housing and Environment in Parliament today, Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said the lack of drainage consideration on roads built in the 1940s was a major cause of road deterioration now.

Where roads are, he said there were water pipes also built that had been for some years old and leaking.

"Some of these pipes were built using asbestos. So when these pipes leak, it makes the road soft underneath," Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said.

"If you see, they are actually putting proper drainage underneath. This is why we are not doing it everywhere."

Accusing previous governments of not addressing problems associated with the leaking water pipes, Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said urban road upgrades were prolonged because of this feature of their works.

He was responding to questions from the Opposition on how the Government could ensure the Fiji Roads Authority maintained a high standard of workmanship in the construction or maintenance works on roads.

He also advised Parliament that the Government would not be able to tarseal all Fiji roads.

"We cannot tarseal all the roads in Fiji but we need to make sure that all the roads in Fiji that cannot be tarsealed is maintained regularly. And they will be maintained regularly because we have a program for that."